Discussion

Cascadia Disappointment

So after much deliberating we went to Cascadia for my mother's birthday this friday and had one of the most disappointing meals in recent memory. First of all, there were maybe 6 tables and service was terrible, it took FOREVER. They managed to screw up making my mother's drink twice. The food was bland and my father's fish was overcooked and old. It appears that all of their effort was put into presentation with little left over for how the food actually tasted. All in all this meal was definitely NOT worth $350 and we will never be returning.

I very much enjoy Cascadia and have never had a bad meal there so I have a few questions about your dinner. You said the service was poor because it took forever. What exactly do you mean? You went on a Friday so I am guessing that the restaurant was crowded. You also said that the food was bland. Obviously the flip side of that is that the kitchen must be careful not to over-salt food. This cannot be fixed whereas food can be seasoned at the table ... not that it isn't preferable to have food properly seasoned (not salty or bland etc). Most importantly, I am not sure what you mean when you state that your father's fish was "old." Suggesting that meat, fish or dairy is not fresh is one of the most damaging things you can say about a restaurant. If that is what you meant I hope you can back that up. Did you taste the food yourself? What about it made you think it was "old"? Did you mention your concerns with the food to the management there? I have been to many restaurants around Seattle and I have never had a piece of fish at any restaurant that smelled abnormal or that otherwise appeared to not be fresh.

It was in fact, very much NOT crowded for a Friday evening. There were maybe 5 tables other than ours. My food WAS bland, the flavors were not "delicate" it was not a matter of salt (I hate overly salted things) it was just, not good, it primarily tasted like lemon juice. We eat a lot of fish, and yes my father's fish did not taste fresh and was overcooked. It wasn't a matter of it being past its prime or dangerous to eat, the fish was just not terribly fresh, and when a piece of fish is $40 it should be very fresh. I understand that you may love Cascadia, but I don't understand why you are questioning the fact that my meal there was not exactly up to par.

i was there recently and the "burrata" was in fact not the usual burrata (that you sometimes see at places like Barolo, Lark, Zoe, Tulio) with the soft creamy runny insides, but instead a rather firm piece of mozzarella cheese, labeled as burrata. Don't be fooled by this poor substitute. The tomato salad that accompanied it was overpowered by the vinegary dressing. The squab also had a rather sour-tasting side of polenta w/ some shredded vegetable on top (i don't recall exactly what it was, something resembling shredded bok choy). Taste and presentation of both dishes were below par for Cascadia-- hope this isn't a trend.